Put the Web to Work

The Landscape of Local Search for 2018 Having been in this business for nearly 20 years, we’ve seen a lot of changes in how Google ranks websites. Gone are of the days of  keyword stuffing content , keyword meta tags, and the other tactics that at best keep you in the top ten pages of Google rankings , and at worst get you a Google penalty. Advances in technology have made search engine algorithms smarter and social media has made consumers more connected. While it can be frustrating as a business owner, as consumers we really actually love it. Our searches tend to yield results we’re looking for, and we can quickly get advice on how good a company is by looking at their reviews and asking our friends online.  ”Hey Alexa” – “Hey Google” Even if you haven’t done it yourself (voice search), trust me, your customers are doing it…and that’s what matters. Voice search is set to take over keyboard/desktop searches in volume over the next year. With voice search, your c...

It's time to get to know your internet marketing team a little bit better! We are continuing our blog series, Get To Know Us, this week! In previous blogs, MSW Interactive Designs has had the pleasure to introduce you to owners Mike and Sandy Waggett, Keith Lucas, Erin Burdette, Deanna Rogers Powell, Karen Horsman, Rebbecah Sansom, Laurel Leurquin, and Krysti Rice. This week, we are introducing another one of our rock stars, Client Services Specialist, Heather Brown. Q:  What brought you to the Lake of the Ozarks? A. I grew up in the Lake Area so my whole family lives around here.  Plus, I met my husband here as well, so his family is local too.  When, my husband and I got married we moved where our jobs took us. Ultimately, we knew we wanted to raise our families in this amazing community around our families, so we moved back before our kids started kindergarten.  This is a wonderful community with great schools and great people.  I couldn’t im...

Play it Safe So You're Not Sorry Copyright laws were set with the goal of protecting the "original works of authorship." So, what exactly does this mean? Let's skip the legal mumbo jumbo and just say this: if you didn't write it yourself, take the photo or video yourself, or purchase a license from the creator to use it in your business marketing, you are at risk of a copyright infringement claim. This includes text/copy used on your website and social media, images, video, music tracks, and any other media you might use in your business marketing.  The Top Copyright Mistakes Business Owners Make These are the things we see businesses doing everyday that make us cringe. 1. Searching in Google and "grabbing" an image they like. 2. Creating Facebook marketing videos and using celebrity TV clips. 3. Creating a  marketing piece that mimics a logo or tagline from a major brand. 4. Posting quote graphics or memes they didn't create ...